KIEREN FALLON toasts trainer O'Brien's success in the Investec Derby and also looks back on what turned out to be a difficult week.

Ruler of the World, ridden by Ryan Moore, returns to the winner's enclosure after winning the Derby (Photo: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images)

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I HOPE you all took my advice last week and backed Ruler Of The World to win the Investec Derby. At the time we published on Wednesday he was freely available at 12-1, despite being returned at 7s on the day.

With so many questions about Dawn Approach getting the trip I felt strongly the Chester Vase winner was cracking each-way value.

Dawn Approach was set alight very early after he got badly squeezed, and in the process became a frightened animal. The race was over for him in that instant, but he isn’t to be dismissed as he is still a sensational miler.

Earlier this week I read that Aidan O’Brien’s jockeys rode to team tactics, but take it from me, that is not true. Aidan’s boys would all be told to ride the race to the best of their abilities and it seemed that Joseph was riding one of the most intelligent races of the lot as he got a soft lead and was happy for his mount to be in front. If there is no pace at Epsom, then that is the place to be and to my eye he did nothing wrong on Battle Of Marengo. The horse wasn’t good enough.

Ryan Moore gave Ruler Of The World a great ride and the second he asked him to lengthen there was never any doubt about who the winner would be.

People often debate who is the strongest in a finish, but racing is more about getting your tactics right and in nine out of ten cases strength in a finish isn’t relevant. The way in which Ryan rode the race meant he had the contest won well before the finish, and that is what great jockeys do. They read races and win them while others are still thinking.

One quality all top trainers possess is patience, and that is Aidan’s greatest asset. Although each of the Ballydoyle quintet was ready to run for his life on Derby day, they will all improve for that outing.

As Ballydoyle stable jockey for several years, I studied diligently how he thought as a trainer and he is quite a remarkable man in that although he has his charges winning big races early in their careers, he still manages to get improvement from them.

Take Dylan Thomas. He won an Arc and two Irish Champion Stakes as an older horse, High Chaparral won two Breeders’ Cups after the Derby, while Yeats won a Coronation Cup at four but then from five to eight he won four Ascot Gold Cups. And there are many other examples.

We have all seen horses trained to the peak for Derby day and never win again, but this won’t be the case with Ruler Of The World and I can’t speak highly enough of this colt. He is the real deal and has the trainer and pedigree to be a force, not just this season but the next as well.

First impressions were that Libertarian was the unluckiest in the race but that was not the case. William Buick gave him a good ride but he wouldn’t have caught the winner.

Without question the biggest hard-luck story was that of Ocovango, who was ridden up the inside rail, where you need more than your share of luck. It was a first ride in the race for Pierre-Charles Boudet and it showed. Andre Fabre is a genius and doesn’t make many mistakes, but not employing a jockey with more experience around the track didn’t help.

In France, Boudet is top class, but you need bundles of experience around Epsom and the ride should have gone to Christophe Soumillon or Olivier Peslier, or a top British-based jockey.

Ocovango was stopped twice when full of running – he is clearly top class and it will take something a bit special to beat him in the Grand Prix de Paris.

Twenty-four hours earlier the Oaks was run at a much stronger pace, hence Hughsie was able to come from the rear of the field with a winning run on Talent.

My filly Banoffee is considerably better than she showed and the ground was too soft for her. We knew she needed quick ground, but you take what you are given and her owners sportingly decided to run. When she gets back on fast ground I have no doubt that she will turn around the form with many who finished in front.

Hats off to Ralph Beckett for the one-two. That is no mean feat in a Classic and it is a great feather in his cap.

As for Moth, I was sat upsides Joseph turning for home and if the Oaks had been over 1m2f she would have won it, so perhaps she would be better dropping in trip.

Intello was an impressive winner of the French Derby, having been given a good ride by Peslier, but I am sure that Ruler Of The World is the better colt and will prove that to be the case as the season goes on.

FRIDAY

I start off with rides on the July Course and then have to make the 146-mile journey up to Pontefract for what I think is my banker of the week.

But let’s start with Newmarket and Jazz Master in the three-year-old maiden. He has run two promising races over 1m2f and the step up to 1m4f will be to his advantage.

Fast Finian is on a handy mark in the 7f handicap, only 3lb higher than when successful two runs ago and has each-way chances.

I am amazed that Number One London is still a maiden as he has bags of ability, but he can right that wrong in the 1m2f handicap off a starting mark of 82.

I have turned down a couple of other rides at the end of the Newmarket card in order to get to Pontefract’s evening meeting to ride Duke Of Perth, who was unlucky not to win last time out at Salisbury.

He got blocked at a key time and would have won. Luca has found him a 1m2f handicap and assuming he doesn’t get drawn badly, he has a major chance.

If I get there on time I will also be on Line Of Reason for Paul Midgley, who drops him back to 6f, his preferred trip.

SATURDAY

The weather will have the final say on who goes for what but I am heading up to Haydock for a couple of nice horses trained by Luca.

Khione, who was an impressive winner of the Listed Daisy Warwick Stakes at Goodwood last month, is set to run in the Group 3 Pinnacle Stakes.

She really impressed me last time and although this is a step up in class she is very capable. But the big ‘if’ concerns the ground as she doesn’t like it riding fast.

The other one is the three-year-old Elhaame in the closing classified stakes. He needs quick ground.

LAST WEEK

Last week was a difficult one as the two days on which I had big chances the rain arrived and messed up everything.

It was touch and go whether Luca ran Danadana in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes as the ground had gone right against him, but he did run and it quickly became apparent he was struggling on the surface, so I looked after him. We need a long, dry spell and there are some cracking prizes to be won with him.

That evening was a real disappointment because I had three good rides taken out due to the ground, leaving me with just two mounts.

It was the same at Epsom the following day, riding only one of my three booked rides.

However, it is no good running horses on ground they despise and those who were pulled out will be back to their best when they have the ground in their favour.

Thankfully, I managed to bag a double at Goodwood in the evening. I said in last week’s column that Stock Hill Fair would be a good thing if the rain came before his race at the West Sussex course and he duly obliged.

It never ceases to amaze me what a crazy sport this can be. I have always considered Goodwood the hardest track in Britain to ride and I genuinely feel I don’t ride it well.

Recently, I became only the fifth to ride 100 winners at the track, and already this season I have a 42 per cent strike-rate with over a £240 profit to a tenner. Yet, amazingly, this year I haven’t ridden a winner at the Rowley Mile, a track I ride well.

Foul journey may have caused Tropics fiasco

One horse who should definitely have won was Tropics at Windsor on Monday. I rode him for Dean Ivory but I got it horribly wrong, hitting the front much too soon and then getting caught on the line. He should have won easily.

The trouble was that I had to drive a million miles an hour from Leicester to get there in time. I got there with one minute to spare as the jockeys were walking out with their caps on. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind and you need to be spot-on.

You don’t see golfers turning up on the tee with two minutes to spare, which is the equivalent of what I did. I won’t be doing that again. Jocks need time to chill after a journey before going out to ride.

Get on Tropics next time because he is a winner without a penalty.

Eyecatcher

Willie came with a rattle

Ann Duffield must be kicking herself after her pride and joy Willie The Whipper was a fast-finishing sixth in the Prix du Jockey Club.

Jamie Spencer was forced, through a bad draw, to lie right out the back in a large field, and unusually for France they went a proper gallop. Unfortunately, Willie The Whipper was the other side of Chantilly when he started his move and in doing so passed no fewer than 13 rivals.

Had the race been a furlong further, he would have taken other scalps.

I don’t know what Ann has in mind for her stable star but on that evidence there must be a decent prize to be won with him this season.